Albay representative Joey Salceda was conferred with the first ever DOST HEROES or House (of Representatives) Exponents of Responsive and Outstanding Engagement in Science Award in a ceremony hosted by DOST Region V last May 17.
The HEROES Award is given to individuals with invaluable contributions to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in pushing for DOST-related legislations and upholding the importance of S&T in the country.
Salceda co-authored the following laws:
- Republic Act No. 11035, an Act Institutionalizing the Balik Scientist Program
- Republic Act No. 11312, An Act Strengthening the Magna Carta for Scientists, Engineers, Researchers and Other Science and Technology Personnel in the Government, Amending for the Purpose Republic Act No. 8439
- Republic Act No. 11363, Philippine Space Act
- Republic Act No. 11337, Innovative StartUp Act
- Provincial Science and Technology Office (PSTO) Act
- Republic Act No. 11534, or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (CREATE) Act of 2021
- Education Act of 2017
- Republic Act No. 11467, or the Sin Tax Law of 2020
- Republic Act No. 11569, or Estate Tax Amnesty Extension
He principally authored bills that were enacted into 11 other laws passed during the 17th Congress, and 17 other laws in the 18th Congress.
He served as the principal sponsor/author of the Science for Change (S4C) Program, Virology and Vaccine Institute of the Philippines (VIP) Bill, the Philippine Atomic Regulatory Commission (PARC) Act and the National Measurement Infrastructure System (NMIS) Act.
He also consistently supported and defended the approval of the DOST Annual Budget at the Committee on Appropriations and Plenary from 2016 up to present. For his efforts as a senior legislator, Salceda has been given various awards and recognitions recently.
“As we face challenges in various sectors and industries; the critical contribution that STI plays cannot be overemphasized. At this time of the pandemic, we have to bring STI closer to productive sectors and the people at the grassroots level. And if we look at various innovation actors, our legislators and policy-makers complement the much-needed collaboration and value creation,” said DOST secretary Fortuanto de la Peña in a Facebook page post.
